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January 2016

U p c o m i n g E v e n t s 50th Anniversary Service & Brunch

Jan 3

Silly Sock Sunday Jan 31

I n t h i s I s s u e : A New Year’s Prayer 2

Bruce & Sandy Thank You 2

Merry Christmas From Your Daycare Family

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Community Reformed Receives Thanks from Grassroots Givers

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January’s Book Group Selection: Jodi Picoult’s The Storyteller

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Thank You for Your Help 3

A Friendly Reminder 3

From its first meetings in what is now Kim’s Oriental Market to today, God has led and nurtured our church through challenges and triumphs. Pastors and leaders have been brought to us to guide us and serve us; paths have been opened for us to share God’s love with neighbors near and far; and God has celebrated with us in times of great joy and grieved with us in times of sorrow and hurt. God has truly loved us.

Now it is time to come together as a church community to joyfully remember God’s goodness to us and to honor our earliest members and their families.

Community Reformed begins this year of

celebration and praise for God’s care during these past 50 years by celebrating an anniversary worship service on Sunday, January 3, at the regular time of 10:00.

Come to celebrate and to give thanks, praise, and joy for these 50 years of God’s care, instruction and guidance.

Following the service, we will host our earliest members and their families at a special brunch.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, COMMUNITY REFORMED

So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Romans 12:5

Community Reformed Church Celebrates 50th Anniversary

January Mission of the Month Silly Sock Sunday January 31st will be silly sock Sunday! So pull out your best silly socks and have some fun. In the past we have collected hats and mittens which is nice and keep us warm.

However, there is no better feeling than putting on a new pair of socks and let's face it we all need underwear. So for the month of January we will be collecting socks, t-shirts and underwear to be distributed to our friends at Schuyler Inn, Visions of Hope, and Schenectady City Mission.

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A New Year's Prayer

Dear Lord, please give me A few friends who understand me and remain my friends;

A work to do which has real value, without which the world would be the poorer;

A mind unafraid to travel, even though the trail be not blazed;

An understanding heart; A sense of humor;

Time for quiet, silent meditation; A feeling of the presence of God;

The patience to wait for the coming of these things, With the wisdom to recognize them when they come.

Amen.

Dear Friends,

With deep appreciation, we thank you all for the gift you presented to us on Christmas Eve. For the never-ending support and encouragement this congregation has offered us over the past 27 years, we are truly grateful. We feel genuinely blessed to be a part of this amazing family in Christ.

Peace,

Bruce and Sandy

Community Reformed Receives Thanks from Grassroot Givers Lou Ann Connelly

We recently received a grateful expression of thanks for all that Community Reformed has done for Grassroot Givers this year.

In May, we hosted a Pillow Case Party sewing event at which more than 250 pillow cases were constructed and sewn in a matter of three hours. This event was funded by your February Mission of the Month contributions.

In August you donated more than one hundred children’s books for their Book Project which puts books into the hands of young readers and provides schools with much needed books at all levels.

October’s Mission of the Month was in support of their day of Simple Giving. During the month we collected personal care items such as soap and shampoo. Then on November 14, we hosted a table to make up kits of these items for area people in need.

Roberta and Mary write: “To our friends at the Community Reformed Church of Colonie – Thank you so much for all of your support.”

You can visit their web site to donate or to get more information: www.grassrootgivers.org.

Merry Christmas from your daycare family!

It has been a busy month for all of us in the land of excited preschoolers! Thank you for your support during the wreath fund raiser...we made over $700! We've had pajama parties, visiting musicians and we went to see Rudolph the Musical at Proctors! We also had a great Christmas show that all the children and teachers worked tirelessly preparing for! We had adorable Rudolph reindeer, Mickey and Minnie Mouse Santas and the cutest Nativity ever!! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas surrounded by family, friends and the

magic of childhood! CCDC 💚

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701 Sand Creek Rd Colonie, NY 12205-2497 Bruce K. Cornwell, Pastor

Community Reformed Church of Colonie

Editor: Beth Colbert

Layout Designer: Shawn Turner

Articles are due by the 15th of the month and may be submitted to jimandbethcolbert@gmail.com or given to Lou Ann Connelly.

www.coloniereformed.org

www.coloniecommunitydaycarecenter.com

701 Sand Creek Rd Albany, NY 12205-2432 Carol Grasso, Director

Tel: (518) 869-0131

E-mail: cgrasso6@yahoo.com

Colonie Community Day Care Center

Tel: (518) 869-5589

E-mail: CrccChurchOffice@nycap.rr.com

Just a friendly reminder. We love you but…… not your germs. If you are feeling a bit “under the weather”, please remain at home. You will be missed at worship or at church meetings but return to us when you are feeling well. Many of the congregation are compromised due to ongoing illnesses or recent surgeries and sharing your illness could be a serious risk. Thank you for your cooperation.

Thank you for your help.

The Christmas Party at Schuyler Inn was a huge success. Many thanks to everyone who baked and contributed prizes. It sure made for a very nice party for those who have just about nothing.

January’s Book Group Selection: Jodi Picoult’s The Storyteller

Sage Singer is a baker, a loner, until she befriends an old man who's particularly beloved in her community. Josef Weber is everyone's favorite retired teacher and Little League coach. One day he asks Sage for a favor: to kill him.

Shocked, Sage refuses—and then he confesses his darkest secret – he deserves to die because he had been a Nazi SS guard. And Sage's grandmother is a Holocaust survivor.

The January Book Group meeting is set for Tuesday, January 25, at 7:00. If you would like to join in the discussion of this book, please contact Karen Reynolds for more information.

Thank you to Missy Ebli, Marty Fuchs, Jr., Marissa and John Lombardo. Over the past few weeks they have cleaned and repainted the wrought iron candle sticks, plant stands, candelabras, and cross in preparation for our church’s 50th anniversary year. These all were made lovingly by Marty Fuchs, Sr. many, many years ago and have graced our sanctuary with joy each Sunday.